berry icebox pie

If you happen to have an excess of summer berries at home (which is not a problem, in my opinion!), this berry icebox pie is an excellent way to use some of them. The cooked berry layer tastes like fresh jam spread across a vanilla-honey graham cracker crust, and topping the pie with fresh berries keeps the flavor fruit-forward. When you start with the freshest and sweetest berries you can find, you don’t need to add much additional sweetener.

To prepare filling, toss berries together in a bowl; place 2 1/2 cups berries in food processor and process until smooth. Strain puree into a medium saucepan and discard solids. Whisk together sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a small bowl; whisk into berry puree. Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened, about 7 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice; cool slightly.

Pour warm berry puree into cooled crust. Top with remaining 3 1/2 cups berries. Cover pie loosely with plastic and chill in the refrigerator until filling is set, about 3 hours. Serve chilled or at room temperature. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 1 day.